ATC mourns the loss of its first CEO José Delgado
José Delgado, American Transmission Co.’s first President and CEO, passed away on Sunday, January 24, 2021, after suffering a massive stroke a week prior. ATC employees mourn his passing and have his family, friends and the many people he touched throughout his life in our thoughts and prayers.
Those who were fortunate enough to work with Delgado knew him as an inspirational leader who was welcoming, enthusiastic, compassionate and honest. He was vibrant and engaging, and you felt his presence when he walked into a room.
Delgado oversaw the creation of ATC and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ATC from Jan. 1, 2001, until April 2009 when he became Executive Chairman of the Board of ATC. He retired from ATC on February 28, 2010, and after retiring, continued his involvement in public service activities, electric industry issues and countless industry and corporate boards.
Delgado spent the 27 years prior to ATC at Wisconsin Electric Power Co., beginning his career as an electrical engineer and ending as vice president of electric system operations when he was named to lead the formation of ATC in late 1999. At Wisconsin Electric he worked in the construction, start up and management of fossil power plants. He led the planning, engineering and construction functions and ended up managing the system operations and generation dispatch activities.
The electric transmission industry was Delgado’s passion, he was always striving to make it better. He was the obvious choice to be CEO of the nation’s first multi-state transmission only utility and was committed to making the business model work. He was a visionary and a strong leader to those first employees who took the leap of faith to join this new company and made them believe that ATC would be successful. Delgado took significant risks and was committed to overcoming them and putting ATC on the map.
“Without José’s leadership, ATC would not be the same company it is today,” said President and CEO Mike Rowe. “His approach fostered innovation, teamwork and an entrepreneurial culture that still exists here. We have greatly benefited from the work he did to set us up for success.”
Delgado believed in working together as an industry and led the development of the North American Transmission Forum to improve the whole industry. He cared about people, the community and education, and served on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents since 2014.
Delgado was a great man who gave so much to our industry and his community, he will always be honored and remembered well at ATC.
Click here to read Delgado’s obituary.
